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Built into the cliffs overlooking the Suvan Sea, Riverfall resides on the edge of grasslands of Cyphrus where the Bluevein River plunges off the plain and cascades down to the inland sea below. Home of the Akalak, Riverfall is a self-supporting city populated by devoted warriors. [Riverfall Codex]

Syna was risen, somewhere behind the drapes and veils of mist that covered the bay. Through the fog the Bluevein River sounded muted, distant, it's roar tamed. Yet, the port never fully stopped working, and although the trade ships lay mostly silent, workers still trailed almost blindly through the fog, delivering and going about their jobs.

Karin wasn't one of them, not today. She was swimming. As the bells chimed in the distance, and the sound of the sails of a boat clinking nearby, the girl slipped out of her trousers, leaving them on the side of the dock. She was wearing next to nothing, apart from her underclothes and a slim, black shirt. She hoped that no-one would steal her belongings, least of all her boots, which had cost her quite a bit even if they did not look it. The only thing she took with her was her knife and her nosepeg. Taking a quick look back at her things, the girl felt safe in the knowledge that it was early, and that there was no-one else around. With the quietest splash, she slipped into the water.

She took a few, brief, strong strokes, pulling her further away from the docks and out into the bay. The water was like nothing she'd ever seen before, almost mystical, covered in every distance with a layer of fog that hung just inches from the surface of the sea. Karin breathed it in like smoke, feeling the moisture clinging to her, like her hair to her head, and her shirt to her body. It was amazing, she thought, how the two different kinds of water co-existed like this, yet managed to keep their distance from each other.

She was swimming leisurely, not putting a huge amount of effort in, merely drifting through the water on her back, kicking occasionally to keep her propelled. With a start, she blinked and kicked her way out of the ship that was moored out in the water, pushing instinctively on the hull to avoid crashing. From then on, the girl swam on her front, taking care to avoid the ships that occasionally reared from the water like beasts. Thankfully, because it was so misty, there was little traffic in the bay, and so the girl could easily avoid the ships.

OOC :

If anyone wants to join, she's not actually that far from the docks, and within easy shouting distance, if not seeing distance. She'd be willing to teach someone how to swim if they so wanted!

10/7/17- All my threads are marked [open] and as such are open to all.

It was early, but old habits die hard, especially old habits solidified by a lifetime of work. Even when Orin was up late the night before, he rose before the dawn. At first it was a side effect of being born a farmer’s son, someone who had to be up to tend to the animals before heading to the field all day. After he’d become a chef, not much had changed. Bread still needed to be baked for the day. Orders had to be processed before the day’s cooking began. Mostly, though, he had a ritual that he performed every morning. There was something about the between times of the world that called to him. There was nothing more mysterious than the area between night and day and sea and land in his mind.

Even so, that wouldn’t have been enough to call him down to the harbor. The Almond Blossom was a very upscale eatery, one that liked to use the most exotic of ingredients. While most merchants knew this and knew to come find Korana and Dolmar, some newcomers weren’t aware of the existence of the restaurant and teahouse. So the staff of The Almond Blossom tried to send someone to check out the ships that had come in as often as possible in order to determine whether they might have something useful or unusual to offer. Often it was cheaper and more efficient to get the ware directly from the harbor, before it passed hands to the various shops and vendors in the area.

Which is why Orin was here so early, as the fog curled around the half-formed figures that were surely dockworkers. Syna’s first rays had touched the earth, but her light was tentative, and Orin bowed his head in his morning offering to his gods. “Thank you, Leth for guiding us through another night and thank you Syna for bringing us another day.” An odd thought caused the corner of his mouth to quirk up as he prayed. That didn’t stop him from continuing with his prayer, however. “Thank you Priskil, for showing me the path to hope. May your watch be ended soon and you be reunited with your love.” He chuckled then, and spoke the thought that had crossed his mind earlier. “I must be a sucker for tragic love stories, since the gods and goddesses I pray to seem to have some of the most tragic ones you could imagine.” It was a sobering thought, and he blinked away a sudden tear. “I hope one day you all might be together.”

That seemed to be all he could do for the moment, and so Orin settled in to wait and watch the harbor. He usually didn’t have to wait all that long, since he could get a pretty good sense of who was arriving based on the activities of the dockworkers. They had a different energy, he’d noticed, when they knew the ship and passengers than when it was an unknown. Although Orin didn’t know anything about ships he figured people who worked here long enough started to recognize them based on category.

As he let his eyes wander over the harbor, something unusual caught his eye. A girl – a woman, rather – was stripping off her trousers As Orin, watched, aghast, he saw far more of her than was rightfully proper. She was fit, tall and lean, with blond hair and tanned skin. He wasn’t close enough to see much more about her, but something on her left shoulder caught his attention. Her shirt mostly covered it, but Orin saw a swirl of brilliant colors, the same ones as the sea.

Realizing that he shouldn’t be paying this close attention to a woman who was stripping, he blushed and averted his eyes. Orin knew he was a bit of a prude when it came to nudity. It was part of his Syliran upbringing, and had caused him no end of trouble, first and mostly with Sylvette, and briefly with Crest, although those memories were too tinged with sadness and he shied away from them. By the time he got up the courage to look for her again, she was gone.

While she might have just swum out to the sea, the fog was hindering his vision too much to tell if the figure out in the bay was she or not. Frantically, Orin got to his feet and rushed over to the area he’d seen her last. He knew she’d disappeared here because her clothes were in a neat pile below him, with nice boots under the trousers. Shading his eye against the sunlight, Orin tried to pick her out. “Hello,” he called softly in common, not wanting to call attention to himself. He leaned forward, trying to get a better look.

However, at that exact moment, someone or something clipped him from behind. It was probably a worker carrying something heavy, but Orin didn’t have much time for thought as he suddenly fell towards the water. He had just enough foresight to take a deep breath before he hit the water, making a huge splash as he did. Hearing shouts behind him, Orin sank, panicking slightly, flailing about in a rather uncoordinated manner. As his lungs started to burn, Orin managed to get his limbs moving in a semblance of the correct manner, and his head broke the surface briefly enough for him to suck in air. However, that was all before he started sinking again.

Last edited by Orin Fenix on July 3rd, 2017, 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It was pleasant, to be marooned alone in the sea, despite the closeness of the bay and the city. The girl took a happy chime simply to float through the water, keeping herself afloat by gentle paddles of her hands flat against the surface. Yet that pleasantness was soon broken by a wild splash, close by. Bemused more than anything, Karin swam closer. It was as she approached the harbour side that she realised with the tiniest bit of dismay that the splash and subsequent splashes belonged to a stranger, one that didn't seem to have much competence when it came to the water.

Above in the swirling mists, a dockhand was just visible lending a hand to the man, and Karin was about to swim away when she realised something. The stranger in the water wasn't taking the hand. With a rather large hint of apprehension now, the girl looked around for someone, anyone else in the water who could help the man out other than her, so that she could shake off the responsibility. Her eyes peered through the fog, noting a boat, a buoy...

There wasn't. Petch. She'd never really had to deal with someone who couldn't swim in fact, the only other person she'd ever swam with was Jay. So it was with a lot of caution that Karin reached to grab hold of the man, gripping his arm as tightly as she could and hauling him higher in the water. It was more difficult than she would have thought- as she dragged him up, she pushed herself down, and was soon subsequently spluttering out sea water herself, angry at herself and the dark-haired man for no real reason other than that she wished she wasn't there.

Trying a different tactic, she hoisted her hands underneath the man's arms and kicked as furiously as she could. He seemed to be more able to breathe at any rate with that, but Karin could feel the burn of trying to keep him upright, and simply shouted, "Kick!" in the politest way possible. She wasn't sure if he was really unable to swim, or if it was more of a shock- by his appearance and the presence of the dockhand, it seemed he'd fallen in by accident. Or pushed... Frowning that thought off, the girl let go, happy for now that the man would have to keep himself upright for a little bit.

10/7/17- All my threads are marked [open] and as such are open to all.

Water. That was all he could see, taste, smell and touch. He was trying desperately to claw his way to the surface, so close by, but he couldn’t seem to get his limbs to cooperate. His supply of air was rapidly running out, but he refused to open his mouth. Surely someone had seen him fall and would understand that he couldn’t swim. Surely someone would arrive to pull him out of his predicament. The people of Riverfall hadn’t seemed cruel or vindictive in any way, and while he wasn’t a citizen, he hoped that didn’t matter to them.

Soon enough, a welcome presence arrived and arms shoved him up above the water. He gasped in a breath, welcoming the release of the pressure in his lungs. Looking about quickly, Orin saw outstretched hands reaching down for him. He grabbed for them, but his savior apparently hadn’t compensated for his weight and they both bobbed under again, Orin grabbing more air just before they went down.

He tried not to panic this time. Desperately he attempted to remember what Crest had told him about swimming, but that day in the sea by Syliras had been a long time ago and Orin hadn’t been in the water since. Besides, in his defense, it was hard to think clearly when his life was on the line. He felt the hands on him readjust themselves, and they both managed to get above the water once again.

’Kick. I can do that.’ Having some direction helped, and the sharp female voice he heard allowed him to start propelling himself upward. His legs were unfamiliar with the motion and protested slightly, but at least he was taking part of the burden off his rescuer. Speaking of rescuers, he saw the hands above him from the docks, and once again grasped for them. This time, his efforts were more successful. Orin was pulled slightly out of the water, and used his other hand to grip the edge of the dock. His upper body wasn’t all that strong but he did his best to lever himself out of the water. It helped that there were others pulling up with him and eventually Orin found himself sitting on relatively solid land.

Coughing, trying to get the taste of brackish water out of his mouth Orin waved away helping hands. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” He shrank in on himself, suddenly aware that he was at the center of a relatively large crowd. Apparently stupid humans falling into the bay was not a common occurrence around here. ’Ah shyke, he thought, looking at the faces around him filled with a mix of concern and derision. Peering about, he saw the Akalak who’d hauled him out and nodded at the taller man. “Thanks.” Forcing himself to meeting everybody else’s eyes, he stammered out an apology. “Sorry about the disruption everyone, I’ll be fine now.” They started to disperse, muttering to themselves in pairs and threes as they went about their business.

Orin gazed about for the woman who actually saved his life and was surprised and ashamed to see that it was the swimmer from earlier. “And thanks to you, too,” he managed to get out, awkward but sincere. “I would’ve been a goner if it wasn’t for you.” Realizing that not only was he soaking wet, he was dripping on her clothes as well, Orin moved further down the dock. Belatedly, he stretched out a hand to help her out of the water as well, not that she seemed to need any assistance. “Is there ah, anything I can do to repay you? Anything at all?” Running his hands through his hair, he shrugged, not really knowing what to do or in this situation. He started to say, “I don’t have much to offer, unfortunately, but…” but that seemed ungrateful and so he trailed off, letting the silence build between them. He didn’t really know what he could do for her, and though he wanted to make amends, he also just wanted to go hide in his room from the shame of it all.

Last edited by Orin Fenix on July 3rd, 2017, 12:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Thankfully, others had crowded around the commotion, and soon enough, the stranger was out of the water, safe on the decking and coughing the water clear. Karin bobbed up and down in the water, keeping herself afloat, half wondering whether she should swim away, now that her assistance was no longer needed. But as the others faded into the lightening fog the man addressed her, and she blushed slightly as she realised she'd completely ignored his offer to climb out of the bay and onto the side.

Instead, the girl climbed out a little after he'd withdrawn his hand herself, and quickly pulled her trousers back on, shaking the dampness from her body and from her hair as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, she'd forgotten her towel. As soon as she was dressed properly, and that her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, she turned to face the man properly.

Keeping her face neutral, she ran a quick eye over him. He seemed oddly familiar, but perhaps that was due to the darkness of his hair. With a start, the girl spluttered to answer his hesitant question, "Uh, well. I don't need anything, thank you. It was just a case of being in the right (wrong) place at the right (wrong) time." She smiled then, and nodded reassuringly. But the girl really wanted to dive back into the water, and it was probably obvious in her body language- taut, wary, slightly shy. She didn't really want to be there. In fact, the two were probably more alike than she realised, but as was usually the case, it was harder to notice shyness in someone else if you yourself were shy.

When the man seemed unwilling to leave, Karin started to shuffle backwards and forwards on her feet, anxious to get going. She didn't want to be as blunt as simply coming out and saying, 'Please could you leave now', so she simply stood there in silence until the only idea that she could think of sprang out of her mind and onto her lips. "You really need to learn how to swim..."

Damn. She'd said it now. Adding quickly on the end, she questioned, "Well, I could probably teach you. If you'd like?" In reality, the girl knew little about teaching, and although she could swim, it was one of those things which had always felt natural to her, as she'd learnt how to swim at a very early age. It was actually a surprise that there were people in the world who didn't know how to do it, but then she supposed, there were probably cities in the world which weren't next to any kind of water and wouldn't have had the chance. What a strange thought.

10/7/17- All my threads are marked [open] and as such are open to all.

The woman neglected to take his proffered hand, and Orin made a fist, uncertainly, before he finally withdrew it, leaving his hands in hip lap in what he knew was an awkward pose. He didn’t want to stay that way for long, and so instead of sitting around waiting for her reaction, he started stripping off his now waterlogged boots. Everything else would dry in the rapidly warming air, but from experience Orin knew that the leather would hold the water for a while. If he left his feet in them for too long, he’d end up with uncomfortable and wrinkled skin.

His rescuer finally emerged from the water and started pulling on her trousers. Orin averted his gaze, blushing slightly. The fabric of her damp shirt clung to her curves. If he looked at her for too long he’d feel like he was a voyeur, and he didn’t want to give her the wrong impression. After looking away briefly, Orin decided to meet her eyes instead. He would probably get in less trouble then.

She had put her in a ponytail, presumably to get the damp strands out of her face. This close, and with the sun touching it, Orin could see that it was a pale blonde. Her eyes were a dark blue and her eyebrows were low. Combined with her ponytail, it gave her a rather fierce appearance. However, her look was softened somewhat by the freckles powdering her nose and cheeks.

The woman seemed bemused by Orin’s offer and he shrugged. “Well, let me know if you change your mind.” He was nervous, now that the two of them were alone. He patted his hands against his legs, which were hanging off the edge of the dock, to get rid of some of the excess energy. “I’m Orin, Orin Fenix,” he said with a smile and a proferred handshake. If the motions were tentative, well, Orin still wasn’t all that comfortable with new people. “I figure that if you’ve saved my life we should at least know each other’s names.” Still, watching her, he felt a bit ashamed. She was clearly uncomfortable, if her restless feet were any indication.

He was about to offer to leave her in peace when she spoke. The corner of his mouth quirked up in the ghost of a smile when he heard Karin’s declaration that he should learn to swim. “A very mischievous young Svefra told me exactly that. Right before he pushed me off the edge of his boat and into the water.” He laughed at the memory of his terror. “Talk about sink or swim.” It was odd, how even after all this time the thoughts of Crest were bittersweet.

Now, however, was not the time to reminisce. He nodded at her invitation to teach him to swim. “If it’s not too much trouble, I’d appreciate that.” Gesturing at himself, he grinned. “At some point, I’d like to find myself in the water and not drowning.” Turning his grin hesitantly towards her, he continued by saying, “Besides, you probably don’t want to have to rescue me again any time soon, so I can’t count on that.” Not that Orin had any intention of allowing himself to be helpless in the water ever again.

Last edited by Orin Fenix on July 3rd, 2017, 12:46 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Ratha was fond of the water herself, more so than most people. Of course that being said she was already able to swim, in fact most people where she was from learned to swim about the same time they learned how to walk. It was not so with other races, clearly. The ones she was observing on the shore now seemed to be some of those. Clearly they were having some sort of conversation, although she could only hear parts of it from where she was. She had learned enough to know that people tended to not like her popping out of no where, and making her presence known, it tended to startle them at the least.

The fact Ratha was in the lake made it perhaps difficult to see her as it were. Unless one was staring at the water then her wake might give herself away. In either case she moved in slowly being curious maybe more curious than one ought to be about the two people who happened to be close enough to her to catch her curiosity. She lowered herself into the water so things from her eyes to her forehead were above the surface and not much else. She tilted her head slightly in an effort to hear what was being said easier. Her mother should she be present would have no doubt reminded her it was rude to do so, on the other hand she was not there to scold her, and so with something like a mental shrug she brushed the thought aside.

To that end she quietly as possible treading water moved in but tried to stay far enough to the side to avoid attention at least not yet. However, Ratha being Ratha was a curious woman and soon enough she was drawn closer to the pair, rather closer than she had meant to be to start with. She was also rather unconcerned with what they might think if they were to catch her well..staring at them.

"I'm Karin, although I wouldn't say I saved your life..." She smiled awkwardly, and briefly touched her mark from Laviku with her right hand at the mention of Orin's Svefra friend, wondering if he still had said friend. She drew her hand down her arm to rest clasping her elbow, quite at a loss where to start.

"Well, okay, aha!" She let out a burst of laughter, short and sharp. "I'm sorry, I offered to teach you yet it's something I've done all my life. That kind of makes it hard to teach, I guess. But okay." She drew in a breath, and let it out slowly, before piping up, "So, I suppose I should ask you what you already know. Was it shock that made you not kick your legs before, or was that because you really didn't know?"

She cringed internally, hoping that the man didn't think her rude. She gestured out at the water, which was steadily clearing of its sheets of mist as Syna rose distinctly in the sky. "Shall we learn out on the water? It's almost impossible to explain how to swim whilst on dry land. I won't push you in though." She laughed again, trying to diffuse her own awkwardness more than anything else.

Half-turning, the girl slipped out of her trousers again, and quickly slid down into the water, gripping the side of the decking and looking towards Orin expectantly. She quickly added, "You can keep your clothes on though, if you want. I just don't like swimming with those on. Kind of uncomfortable."

She bobbed up and down in the water as she waited for him to join her, and started to try and explain as he did so. "Okay, like I told you just before, you'll need to kick your legs back and forth. People don't normally naturally float, so kicking should keep you afloat, I think."

She racked her brain, trying to think of what else she might need to tell him, but decided to wait and see what he wanted to do first, or whether she would need to drag him out the water again. She hoped that she wouldn't have to do the latter- despite her apparent ease in the water, she knew without a doubt that if he started drowning this time, she might not have the strength to pull him out herself. Not that he looked all that heavy- merely that she didn't have the strength for it.

It was as the girl was turning around in the water, to swim a little further away from the deck that the almost spectral form of a woman emerged from the mists. Karin physically reeled back in shock, spluttering as she accidentally pushed ocean water into her own mouth, and narrowly avoided bumping into the woman. Not only am I teaching when I was supposed to be having a leisurley swim, but now there's someone else here too! If she felt like she could pull it off, Karin would've rolled her eyes.

But as it was, she swam past the woman and turned around to face her, apologising quickly, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." Now she didn't know what to do- Orin was expecting a lesson, and she was flustered, out of her depth with (relatively) so many people to contend with. "Orin... How're you doing?" She said, realising she'd left him to his own devices.

10/7/17- All my threads are marked [open] and as such are open to all.

He smiled at the woman’s clearly nervous gesture as she introduced herself. “It’s very nice to meet you, Karin.” Orin just chuckled at Karin’s sheepish response to his statement. “I know you wouldn’t. That’s why I said it.” Still, there was an edge to his voice, and for a minute, he remembered the feel of the water all around him. Shivering, Orin glanced over at Karin. “I guess Crest was right. I really need to learn how to swim.” The thought of getting back into that water frankly terrified him. However, Orin hadn’t gone through his life running away from what scared him. It was quite the opposite.

Still, he wasn’t an idiot. Just like when he was in the kitchen, he knew that preparation was key to any endeavor. If he really wanted to avoid the danger of drowning in the future, then apparently he’d have to train. And Karin seemed more than willing to take some time out of her day to help him out. Her hesitation was sort of endearing. Tilting his head at her quizzically, he grinned at the woman beside him. “Don’t apologize when you’re doing someone else a favor.” Smiling, Orin tried to make his voice as soft and kind as possible. He thought the advice was pretty good though.

What he knew was very little. “Try not to die?” he offered tentatively. Shrugging, Orin gestured at the water below them. “I know what you mean. I panicked, even though I know a little about what I’m supposed to do.” However, he didn’t actually know much beyond flailing his limbs in a semblance of coordination to keep afloat. Sighing, he realized that a better question was what he didn’t know. “It’s probably safer for everyone involved if you treat me like a complete beginner.” Even though she’d already expressed trepidation about her teaching abilities, he felt confident she’d do a good job.

To his credit, he only paused for a moment before nodding in acquiescence to Karin’s suggestion he get back the water. ’I can do this, he thought fervently, adding in a furtive prayer, ’Priskil preserve me. That simple request did a bit to steady his nerves and remind him that he shouldn’t give into his fear. His response to Karin was shaky, but he kept most of his anxiety out of it. “Let’s go.” Taking a deep breath, Orin ventured a joke. “And don’t worry about pushing me in. I seem to be quite talented at that all on my own.” It fell a little flat to his ears, but he still felt good at trying to be humorous about the situation.

Her stripping was becoming less embarrassing each time she did it, although Orin still averted his eyes. Still, if she wasn’t self-conscious about it, Orin probably didn’t need to worry about offending her. While his clothes were already soaked from his dip earlier, he figured there was no reason to make them damper. Besides, the sun had risen and it would dry quickly in Syna’s rays. He pulled off his boots, and then slipped out of his shirt and his trousers, trying to spread them out so they would catch the most sunlight.

He listened carefully as his stepped to the end of the dock. Her words seemed reasonable, but rational words didn’t necessarily do much to combat irrational emotions. Still, Orin had significant experience getting past the fear that tried to grip his limbs and paralyze. That didn’t mean he was going to be stupid about the very real danger of him trying to swim. Kneeling down, he gripped the edge of the dock in his hands, and then jumped off, careful to keep hold of the wood.

As his body entered the water, Orin was able to notice that it felt pleasantly warm, something he’d failed to realize the last time he was in it. He also felt oddly weightless, which was good, since he doubted he could hold up his full weight from the dock for a significant amount of time. Neither of these facts were familiar from his last time in the water. Still, he felt he could be forgiven his faulty memory considering he was dying last time. Kicking his legs, Orin felt his body bob up and down with the motion. Taking a risk, he let go of the dock, and was pleased to see that he was able to keep himself upright.

Grabbing back onto the dock, Orin twisted so he could look for Karin, who had remained silent for a while. She had swum out further into the bay, and he was slightly daunted at the idea of trying to get out to her. However, that wasn’t the most pressing thought on his mind. Someone else was out there with them, although her form was half hidden by the water. Still, she appeared to have pale skin and pale hair. The new arrival also appeared to be staring at him and Karin, but hadn’t mentioned anything to either of them. “Uh…can I help you?” The whole situation seemed rather awkward, especially because the motion he needed to make to look at the two women was certainly strange and pulled muscles Orin didn’t normally use.

Ratha for her part was well aware how the situation was rapidly going down hill in the social graces department. She might have grown up in an place most people would describe as both isolated and inhabited by people who could be often called naive..at best. She was also aware of the fact she was staring at them directly and averted her eyes, she had gotten used to other races by now, but some times she caught herself studying them if she didn't catch herself, something people tended to find a little uncomfortable and it was a habit she was trying to break.

In any case she had been seen, which wasn't something she had been planning to do. She supposed it was due to the fact she was not as hidden as she thought herself to be. But, then it was fairly hard to hide in open water unless one was beneath it, something Ratha could have easily done, however legs ..and other things was not an interesting site as people from the waist up, at least when one wanted to have a conversation with them.

Now that she was seen it was not like she could have retreated even if she would have liked to. Not that she did, she was curious, even she could admit that fact to herself. She moved a little closer as they had acknowledged her. She did give into the urge and dipped below the water for a moment as she moved closer into ear shot and came back to the surface, pushing the hair back from her face as she resurfaced.

"Need something? She shook her head. "No, I just saw some other people and afraid you caught me staring a bit." She looked a bit sheepish at that. "I hope I'm not interrupting any thing." It has suddenly occurred to her, that she might be interrupting something and she dipped her head slightly suddenly concerned that she might have stumbled upon something that she shouldn't have.

She looked at the both from her lashes, trying to look at them with out looking at them. Even her mother had told her it was rude to stare at people advertly. She treaded water as she gave them that look. "Where are my manners? I'm Ratha." She gave her name suddenly recalling her manners.